The Global Economic Impact of Climate Change: An Empirical Perspective

Empirical research has revolutionized how we understand the global economic impacts of climate change. Recent empirical analyses have tested theoretical ideas, challenged prior estimates, and revealed important and unexpected impacts. Further, the credibility and replicability of empirical results have played a critical role in guiding high-stakes climate policies. Here, I describe the landscape of empirical economic research on global impacts, I explain elements of modern analyses, I summarize recent findings on a range of topics, and I point towards promising new areas of investigation. In particular, I focus on empirical perspectives for six “grand challenges” in the field: understanding climate change’s global impact on economic output, health, conflict, food security, disasters, and migration. Overall, I argue that interwoven empirical findings across outcomes are aligning to paint an increasingly coherent picture of a future global economy impacted by climate change. Taking the literature as a whole, the global consequences of unmitigated climate change are likely to be substantial, unequal, negative in net economic value and potentially destabilizing.